Socialism doesn't work, it sounds good in theory, but in practice it's doomed to failure. The simple reason is... it doesn't take human nature & human fallability into account. Some people are simply lazier than others for example. You need some degree of inequality otherwise what inspires people to work hard, produce and improve their lives?
By and large truly socialist economies are stagnant and inefficient, workers are unproductive and industries are polluting and outmoded.
That said, rampant capitalism doesn't work either since you get an economy dominated by a few massive corporations who then can pretty much do as they please. You need a balance between business and the state.
It's interesting to me that the anti-corporate-big business ,ie Ralph Nader crowd, promomotes policies that make it impossible for the little guy to compete.
Examples
-excessive environmental regulation
-make it very difficult to fire or lay off employees.
-Push for huge legal liability of companies from everything to racism, sexual harassment, and a host of other things.
-Acres of Red tape, fees, licenses, etc.
-High taxes.
Under the climate that greens & Socialists push for, only huge multi-national corporations can afford to comply with all the regulation. When regulations and red tape are lessened, the little guy has a chance to be in the game.
Compare the opportunity for upward mobility in Europe to that of the U.S.
